The ballot box could turn into a hot box this November

Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada are voting for their right to use recreational marijuana on November 8. These states could potentially join Colorado, Washington, Oregon and the District of Columbia as states where recreational marijuana is legal.

Currently, there are about 17 million Americans who are allowed to legally purchase marijuana, and if California’s Prop 64 passes, that number would more than double. If all five states pass recreational marijuana, nearly a quarter of the country would live in territories where recreational marijuana is legal.

Let’s a take a deeper look at the different props that will be on the ballot next month, and some of the opposing views:

Arizona:

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Proposition 205 would make recreational marijuana legal by state law.

Adults 21 and older would be allowed to possess one ounce or less of marijuana and cultivate six plants in their homes. This measure would create a Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control, which would be in charge of regulating the cultivation, manufacturing, testing, transportation, and marijuana sales. The Arizona governor would elect the department’s director.

Proposition 205 would also place a 15 percent tax on sales and enforce maximum fines of $300 and community service for smoking or using marijuana in public, underage use, unauthorized production, and possession of illegal quantities. Each county or city could regulate and limit marijuana businesses and would also allow medical marijuana facilities to become recreational.

As of October 7, supporters of Proposition 205 have raised approximately $3.1 million, and the opposition has raised more than...(continue reading)